gangrel_pri | I should be in bed.

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Current Location: 65807
Current Music: "Fernando"-ABBA

Entry tags:

politics,
rants

I should be in bed.

Edit: I should learn better than to type rants at 3AM. Edited this damn thing so many times now I may cry.

Problem is I've been up all night pondering how I should vote Tuesday. I'm sure most of you longtime readers are aware of where my sympathies lie politically (I really am a moderate, I swear. Problem being gay rights issues tend to make everyone think I'm out there with Ted Kennedy.)

So, just for fun, I'm going to put everything behind a cut and see if my trolling catches anything.

Politics and current issues in general.

Forgive me for saying this, but I have the feeling no matter who wins in November, we're gonna get a Carter-style administration. Which is to say Congress is gonna keep the President on a short leash. Given the backlash against the Nixonion power grab by the current exec branch.. Then again, the Dems have been really big pussies about this since they got elected in to fix it. All I can assume is that they're hoping to win the office this year and let their guy fuck the country like Bush did. I mean seriously, apart from foriegn policy (which my personal view is "Bush is a total failure"), I though Bush's original promise was to run the US like a business with his MBA degree. Which is why the budget's fucked. Seriously. I guess the 2009 budget is supposed to freeze funding on programs Bush doesn't like, but still has major deficit spending. I'd love to know what MBA program teaches you to spend like that. I don't think Republicans are in any position to claim Fiscal conservatism anymore. Not that Dems ever could. I'd love to see a non-fringe candidate with a serious shot at a nom stand up and say "We're gonna cut spending. We're not gonna cherry pick. Either everything takes cuts or nothing takes cuts."

And since I've moved to MO, I've had to listen to just about everyone on all sides of the immigration distraction. That's all it really is. If we really cared, we'd kick the Cubans out of Florida and the Asians out of the Pacific coast/Hawaii. And what truly amuses me is that we sent most of our jobs to Mexico, and yet they all want to come here. More proof our jobs suck.

Hillary Clinton

I hate myself for admitting it, but I'm probably going to end up voting for her on Tuesday. Not because I really like her, but mainly because I know she's already done the job for 8 years and I have a good idea of what to expect.

That and I want to hear all about her shoving cigars up a male intern's ass.

Barack Obama

Seriously. This guy really seems to not have much in the way of a backbone. It really is like Carter in '76. Not even one term in the Senate. And he's endorsed by Oprah, which is a huge strike against him. (Yes, I dislike Oprah. But then, I'm mostly anti-trendy.)

Mike Huckabee

*laughter* Yeah right. I only hope he wins the Republican nomination. If only because sane Americans will turn out in droves to make sure he loses.

Mitt Romney

I have no problem with his Mormonism. And given his rather moderate record in Massachusetts, I worry less about him getting the nomination. Only problem is everything I've ever heard him talk about leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like him as a person, and I don't think I could vote for him.

John McCain

Anyone else amused that one of the Keeting 5 is running on a reform/fiscal platform?

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense.

A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

And I'll finish this off with 2 serious things.

1) I really hate both major parties at the moment and wish to G-d there was a worthwhile candidate in the running. (And yes, I'm including Ron Paul in that statement. No that's not an endorsement of Ron Paul. Ron Paul scares the piss out of me, but thankfully, he's like Howard Dean in 2004 or Snakes on a Plane in 2006.)

2) As a corollary, I wish to G-d, Cazic, and Cthulhu the states could all do primaries/caucuses the same fucking day. The current system sucks ass. Candidates that might actually be worth voting for get eliminated before a majority of the country gets to vote for them. So fuck the system.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah - the gay rights thing is a good enough reason to slant towards the democratic side of things, and at least you acknowledge that and seem to look at everything objectively all the same.

My slant is anti-IRS, pro liberty, anti-government in our business, and everyone equal across the board.

There was a time when that stance leaned more towards the republican side of things because everything I hated about them was legislation they could never reasonably even hope to pass (i.e. choosing the candidate that could do the least amount of damage).

Anymore it seems there is not a lesser of two evils, just two opposing evils (though more and more they are becoming less and less different).

And as with every election, the candidates I hate most match with the order of who is most likely to win, when divided party to party anyway - much like last election where the Dems gave us Kerry (WTF?) instead of any of those many candidates people actually liked enough to cross party lines. And like four years ago, I'd take Edwards over Obama, Obama over Hillary, and any of those three over anyone but Ron Paul - and I'd especially take any Democrat over Romney and Huckabee.

And that "Things you Have to Believe..." list is fantastic. Of your own creation?

... although the Clinton scandal - they had so many valid impeachable offenses before that mess - but things like Watergate, Iran Contra, Enron, Halliburton, Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, etc - draw too much attention to how out of control the government has become - and you won't see enough politicians pointing fingers in any such things these days because it is too much like throwing stones in glass houses. Trying to go for the sex scandal instead was one of the stupidest things they could ever have done, the stupidest fiasco the world has ever experienced, and the worst crime against the nation because it turned any future impeachment process into a doomed affair and a joke. There were many republicans who thought the whole ordeal was insanely dumb, and perhaps more passionately.

Furthermore, both parties are total sellouts to the corporations, though one is more likely to sell us out to military contracting companies and the other to the insurance and pharmaceuticals industries, there are too many industries that either willing to get into bed with at the expense of our freedoms.

... And both are advocates of censorcism. If I had my way, late night TV could have a show where a gun-toting madman showed us all how to make bombs while sodomizing a guy in a Hello Kitty outfit atop a pile of human remains and singing the national anthem under a burning flag. I wouldn't watch it, but I would stand for the rights of others to do so.

Nah, the list was something I found on the FARK Bulletien boards. I figured out FARK's threads are kind of like the Letters to the Editor, only more fun due to th instant gratification of being abole to reply in seconds, rather than days.

And I agree. I wish Edwards was still in it.

...Raping Hello Kitty? But I agree. I really wish everyone wasn't in such a hurry to make the Us a Nanny state along te lines of what the UK has become.

Not "raping" per se, I said "sodomizing" - it's consentual I swear.

mmmm. Fark. I haven't been there in a while.

Hmm, hentai Hello Kitty. Yum.

And yeah, FARK's still around. not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing some days,

...I'm probably going to end up voting for her on Tuesday

I say good for you! I've been a yellow dog Democrat forever, LOVED Bill, LOVE Hill, and have been incredulous at this Obama pied piper syndrome. I agree, his candidacy (for me) would be more credible with even a full Senate term under his belt, but at this point I'm just thinking there's no "there" there.

I think Ron Paul is fucking insane.

I got a computerized call wanting to poll "Missouri Republicans" Thursday night. I wanted to mess with the results, but I couldn't think of anything crazier to monkeywrench with the choices offered than "undecided." Would that it had been a real person.

Ron Paul scares me. But he seems to be this years version of Snakes on a Plane or Howard Dean...lots of noise, nothing beihind it.

LOL Yeah, it'd be fun to screw with the polls:)

Vote for whoever floats your boat, but I've gotta say that those are about the lamest reasons for not voting for Obama I've ever seen. You question his masculinity (really classy), and dislike him because of someone you dislike chose to endorse him? Please. And if you add up his time in the state legislature and his time in the Senate, Obama has spent more time in elected office than Hillary has. I'm not arguing that the Illinois state legislature (senate, whatever) is the equivalent of the US Senate, but the claim that he's "inexperienced" is a little bit ridiculous. She's OLDER than he is, that's basically what it amounts to.

You don't want to be a one-issue voter, but from what I've heard it sounjds like Obama's positions on any and all issues related to gay rights are better than Hillary's across the board. She and her husband have been claiming to enthusiastically support gay rights while agreeing left and right to anti-gay crap like the Defense of Marriage Act for years now. She's floated ideas like legislation to prevent flag-burning recently. You may think Obama would be another Carter ... I'm pretty much convinced that Hillary would be (in many ways) another Bush Jr. I'll definitely vote for her if she's the nominee, even if the Republicans go with their only non-insane candidate and nominate McCain, but I'm not convinced she's the best person to get the country to quit bitching and feuding and focus on moving forward.

And Ron Paul is now, and has always been, a fucking nut job. The fact that so many otherwise liberal/moderate young voters were attracted to his candidacy has everything to do with his "outsider" status and his loud anti-war rhetoric, and nothing at all to do with an actual review of the positions he held on issues.

P.S. Romney was governor of Massachusetts, not New Jersey.

We'll start ath ethe nd and make our way back.

Oops, let me fix that. It's what I get for typing at 3 AM.

I agree, Ron Paul is a nut job. By far the best quote I've seen thus far is "Ron Paul is the Snakes on a Plane of 2008" Kind of like Howard Dean was back in 2004.

And yeah, Hillary is on the divisive side. I understand that. But, I honestly believe whoever wins is a one-term posting who'll have almost no power.

As for Obama, I just don't know what it is, but he rubs me the wrong way. Kind of like Romney, actually. Mothing I can put my finger on, but both of them just bring out the grouch in me. and like you said, if he does win, I'll vote for him over whoever wins on the Republican side.

I am giving up on the Libertarian label because too many 'Huckanuts and Paulbearers' are calling themselves Libertarian, effectively rendering the label worthless. These people destroyed the essence of what Neo-Conservatism originally stood for, and have now set their sights on the Libertarian Party, soon to render it into nothing more than another Christian-Rightist outpost.

...and people worry that Muslims multiply.

I've noticed that. I always liked the Libertarians, since (while I wasn't always on the same page), they at least had their head screwed on straight.

Wow, your things you have to believe to be a republican today is comedy gold! Sadly true, but damn funny.

Found that in a FARK forum, oddly enough. Made me laugh in a bitterly sarcastic way.

Excellent, excellent points. Do you mind if I post (and credit) your run down of the republicans on my blog?

I'm right there with you on Ron Paul, but this also brings up another issue. Equal time for all canidates. While I understand it's a difficult thing to do at the same time there is an alarming trend of major media outlets trying to make sure certain candidates get more face time. Did you watch the most recent CNN Republican debate? Both Hukabee, and more so Paul were consistantly cut off and ignored, despite the supposed 'no rules' format. Personally I think Hukabee and Paul are nuts, but as a nominee they have the right to equal time. It makes you wonder who really decides who are canidates are... the public or the media?

Be my guest, feel free to borrow.

Yeah noticed that. And it's not just national elections. I remember bitching about it during Gubenatorial years in Ohio.

I think it's funny you fall on the same side as Ann Coulter. Never thought that would happen, did ya?

Honest to god, I hoped early on it wouldn't come to this, but right now Obama's got my vote because at least he's HONEST even if I don't agree with his positions.

Hillary and McCain are both lying scumbags.

Want proof? Here you go:

Boortz and ABC News have a nice rundown on her years on the board of directors at Walmart while plotting to keep unions out: http://boortz.com/more/video/hillary_walmart_gma.html

Don't get me started on her shady dealings with the Rose Law Firm and the failure of Madison Guaranty.

And of course there's the time she claimed that her daughter was in danger on September 11, claiming that Chelsea went for a jog down to the towers themselves, and when the planes hit, she saw the buildings right there and was nearly in peril. Too bad again, since Chelsea totally debunked her mother's phony story in a magazine article, telling a reporter she was on the other side of the city and was woken up with a phone call telling her to watch the news and she never got anywhere near the towers. Instead she was staring shocked at the TV screen most of the day.

The woman can't even be honest about the origin of her first name, claiming she's named after Sir Edmund Hillary when he didn't get famous until his Everest climb (five years after she was born).

As someone once said, Bill lies about sex, but Hillary lies about EVERYTHING.

And for good measure, here's Ann loudly proclaiming her support of Hillary over McCain: http://boortz.com/more/video/coulter_clinton.html

Yeah I know. And I feel bad about feeling like I should vote for her. I dunno, Obama really just grates on my nerves. Not sure if it's just because he's so vanilla, or because he reminds me of what Jimmy Carter was back in 1976, a political outsider claiming he was going to unite the country.

Problem was, near as I can tell, Carter failed miserably. Thus why we got Reagan.

ROFL.... vanilla? Seriously? Have you read any of his writing?

Obama, before he got into politics, was very much the "angry young black man" having issues with his mixed heritage. He admits using drugs and alcohol and raising a ruckus as a teen before coming to terms with his identity, buckling down, getting an education and making something of himself.

So he went to Columbia and Harvard and became a lawyer. And unlike Hill, who has undertaken a campaign to destroy or hide all evidence of her writings and the commencement addresss from her Wellesley years when she was actively rebelling against her staunchly Republican daddy, Obama lets his academic record and his writings stand on their own.

He actually has more experience in elected office than Hill does, if you count his years in the Illinois legislature (and Chicago is a BIG city, much bigger than Little Rock). He's dealt with the partisan bickering now at the local, state and federal level and the guy is intelligent to know it will never go away entirely, but in order for Congress and the Prez to get anything worthwhile ACCOMPLISHED, there needs to be some agreement that crosses party lines on several key issues.

I'll try to go in order on this. Surprisingly, I'm pretty much where you are, but on the other side, I really am a moderate, but the spin put on my constitutionalist views, and my fiscal conservatism (not that republicans have done that lately, but still) make me appear to be far more to the right.

Also, I'm sure you know this, but since gay rights was mentioned: I love the gay community, they have the best clubs, and some of the nicest people. However, I don't think its an issue of politics. I default to the 10th amendment. When it comes to gay marriage, its a choice of the religion, not of the government. When it comes to healthcare and other such issues, who a business decides to cover is up to them, and most of the insurance companies acted on this issue long before the government cared.

I think we will get the opposite. If republicans win they are going to really go to the middle, as there isn't really a conservative one in the bunch, they will work with congress and democrats, and bad things will become law. If Hillary wins she has the political capital to do what she wants. If Obama wins...ehhhh...we will see.

I'm not a huge fan of Bush (although I come off that way because I hate the "Bush is the devil" crowd). With that said, I loved his most recent SotU. Bottom line is if pork isn't cut the bill is vetoed...if it wasn't voted on, it can't be law. If he follows through this will be one of the few really good things from his presidency.

Hillary:
My problem is we know what to expect of her

Obama:
Of the democrats I hate him the least.

Huckabee:
I don't like his religious views. Religious views don't become law (other than the faith based funding...I challenge anyone to prove me wrong) I don't like the flip flopping and that his words don't match his deeds. He was my early favorite, and I like his support of the fair tax.

Romney:
I didn't know much about him until recently...I'm intrigued enough to give the guy a shot

McCain:
Go Obama!!!

lastly, for the "things you have to believe...its amusing, but I could do the exact same on the same issues with dems...for example

Saddam was a bad guy when Reagan armed him, but not so bad when he gassed Kurds. He was good when Clinton was in office, except for when we had to bomb asprin factories to take news away from the impeachment. He was bad when democrats in congress voted for this war, but now that he is dead we miss him.

A woman can kill a child who never harmed anyone, but serial killers should get a slap on the wrist.

The best way to support our military is change "war" to "peace keeping mission" but slash military funding drastically.

Attempt #2 assming Yahoo lets me finish.

I know why I hate McCain, I'm just curious why everyone else hates him at Hillary-esque levels.

See, the thing with marriage for me has less to do with religious views and more to do with the benefits that the governement hands married folks. Either take away all government sponsered marriage, or extend it to everyone. If a church doesn't want to perform the ceremony, that's their right. Also, I'd like to believe that the 10th amendment could justify NOT amending the federal constitution to block states from allowing marriage if they so choose.

I've noticed that I'm getting more fiscally conservative the older I get. thus my comment about wanting candidates willing to slash everything equally rather than slashing some programs while rapidly expanding others.

And while I know a few people seem to think I'm anti-military, I'm really not. If it hadn't been for the military, I'd not have been born.

I hate McCain for several reasons. He is too liberal for my liking. He is a hypocrite and a career politician like no other (besides maybe Ted Kennedy). I hate his history with illegal immigration. I can't trust him on much of anything.

I'm all for getting the government out of marriage completely, including any and all benefits.

As for fiscal conservatism, the moment I started paying taxes I realize I didn't like it. I don't want them to slash everything...just most things. And I don't want it replaced by more, but there are some things that should be funded by the government, primarily the military. I'm cool with NASA, interstate highways I'm mixed on, energy I'm mixed on...but thats about it. I would be willing to compromise on other things such as education, health care, welfare, and a few others, but with a great reduction on costs.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I should be in bed.

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McCain-Obama '08!

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So you're gonna vote for a hypocrite...

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I should be in bed.

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McCain-Obama '08!

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So you're gonna vote for a hypocrite...

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